Thesis (M.Eng.(Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Summaries in Afrikaans and English. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-109).

This dissertation presents techniques for using adaptive trusses for active vibration isolation in flexible structures. Passive methods have been used almost exclusively in the past for vibration isolation, although in the more recent literature active techniques have been proposed in an attempt to achieve greater isolation performance. Most of the active techniques, however, require either detailed knowledge of the system or of the disturbance to be isolated. This work focuses on techniques in which knowledge of the disturbance is minimal, and in some cases, knowledge of the system is not necessary. Two new active vibration isolation methods are presented which are based on feedback of transmitted forces in the system. The methods include force feedback through a high gain, and state feedback using the LQR method with disturbance modelling. A third method which has been demonstrated in the literature, force feedback through a classical compensator, is also presented for comparison. For the purpose of discussion, each of the methods is applied to a system which includes a single active mount. The methods are then applied analytically to an adaptive truss, which essentially contains multiple mounts, to demonstrate multi-degree-of-freedom active vibration isolation. It is shown that force feedback provides two-way isolation, and its effects are independent of the type of active mount used (whether it is a force- or displacement-commanded mount). The most promising technique proves to be the simplest, the high-gain feedback method. This technique is a stable, model-free method of vibration isolation which places no restrictions on the type of system disturbance, other than that it must be within the actuator’s bandwidth. The high-gain approach is applied experimentally and shown to agree with the simulated results. / Ph. D.

Thesis (MScEng (Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Vibrating a tillage tool is an effective way of reducing the draft force required to pull it through the soil. The degree of draft force reduction is dependent on the combination of operating parameters and soil conditions. It is thus necessary to optimize the vibratory implement for different conditions. Numerical modelling is more flexible than experimental testing and analytical models, and less costly than experimental testing. The Discrete Element Method (DEM) was specifically developed for granular materials such as soils and can be used to model a vibrating tillage tool for its design and optimization. The goal was thus to evaluate the ability of DEM to model a vibratory subsoiler and to investigate the cause of the draft force reduction. The DEM model was evaluated against data obtained from field testing done with a full scale single tine vibratory subsoiler. Soil testing was also done for material characterization and for the calibration of DEM material properties. The subsoiler was simulated using a commercial code, PFC3D. The effect on the simulation results of particle diameter, different bonding models and damping models was investigated. The final simulations were evaluated against the experimental results in terms of the draft force and material behaviour. The cause of the draft force reduction due to vibration was also investigated with the aid of the DEM model. From the results it was concluded that DEM is able to model the vibratory subsoiler for its design and optimization. The DEM model also provided valuable insight into the cause of the draft force reduction such as the increased peak stresses due to vibration and the increase in particle kinetic energy.

Thesis. (M. Tech. (Mechanical Engineering))--Vaal University of Technology / Bearing condition monitoring and fault diagnosis have been studied for many years. Popular techniques are applied through advanced signal processing and pattern recognition technologies. The subject of the research was vibration condition monitoring of incipient damage in rolling element bearings. The research was confined to deep-groove ball bearings because of their common applications in industry. The aim of the research was to apply neural networks to vibration condition monitoring of rolling element bearings. Kohonen's Self-Organising Feature Map is the neural network that was used to enable an automatic condition monitoring system. Bearing vibration is induced during bearing operation and the main cause is bearing friction, which ultimately causes wear and incipient spalling in a rolling element bearing. To obtain rolling element bearing vibrations a condition monitoring test rig for rolling element bearings had to be designed and built. A digital vibration measurement acquisition environment was created in Labview and Matlab. Data from the bearing test rig was recorded with a piezoelectric accelerometer, and an S-type load cell connected to dynamic signal analysis cards. The vibration measurement instrumentation was cost-effective and yielded accurate and repeatable measurements. Defects on rolling element bearings were artificially inflicted so that a pattern of bearing defects could be established. An input data format of vibration statistical parameters was created using the time and frequency domain signals. Kohonen's Self-Organising Feature Maps were trained in the input data, utilising an unsupervised, competitive learning algorithm and vector quantisation to cluster the bearing defects on a two-dimensional topographical map. A new practical dimension to condition monitoring of rolling element bearings was developed. The use of time domain and frequency domain analysis of bearing vibration has been combined with a visual and classification analysis of distinct bearing defects through the application of the Self-Organising Feature Map. This is a suitable technique for rolling element bearing defect detection, remaining bearing life estimation and to assist in planning maintenance schedules. / National Research Foundation; Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Orientador: Robson Pederiva / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Mecânica / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-19T20:21:22Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Silva_ViniciusAugustoDiniz_M.pdf: 16029999 bytes, checksum: a3585cbd021c6f84637d409a34a51962 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012 / Resumo: Motores elétricos são componentes essenciais na grande maioria dos processos industriais. As diversas falhas nas máquinas de indução podem gerar consequências drásticas para um processo industrial. Os principais problemas estão relacionados ao aumento dos custos, piora nas condições do processo e de segurança e qualidade do produto final. Muitas destas falhas mostram-se progressivas. Neste trabalho, apresenta-se uma contribuição ao estudo de métodos de detecção de falhas em motores elétricos usando Máquinas de Vetores de Suporte (SVM), treinadas a partir de sinais de vibração obtidos experimentalmente. A metodologia desenvolvida é usada para classificar a excitação devido a falhas mecânicas e elétricas, além da condição normal de funcionamento, utilizando apenas um sensor de vibração. Através da seleção de parâmetros é possível reduzir o número de entradas capazes de representar os sinais utilizados para o treinamento das SVMs. A normalização proposta permitiu melhorar as taxas de acerto, quando se quer classificar falhas em diferentes níveis de severidade das que foram utilizadas para o treinamento. Os resultados mostraram que a metodologia apresentada pode ser adaptada para ser utilizada em aplicações práticas industriais e poderá ser no futuro uma saída viável para uma manutenção industrial eficiente e eficaz / Abstract: Electric motors are essential components in most industrial processes. The several faults in induction machines can produce drastic consequences for an industrial process. The main problems are related to rising costs, decrease conditions in the process and safety and quality of the final product. Many of these failures are progressive. In this paper, we present a contribution to the study of methods for detecting faults in induction motors using Support Vector Machines (SVM) trained from vibration signals obtained experimentally. The developed methodology is used to classify the excitation due to mechanical and electrical failures, in addition to normal operating condition, using only a vibration sensor. Through the feature selection is possible to reduce the number of inputs that represent the signals used for training the SVMs. The proposed standardization has improved the accuracy rates when we want to classify failures at different levels of severity that were used for training. The results showed that this methodology can be adapted for use in industrial and practical applications and in the future may be a viable approach to an efficient and effective industrial maintenance / Mestrado / Mecanica dos Sólidos e Projeto Mecanico / Mestre em Engenharia Mecânica

The aim of the thesis is to propose active damping as a potential control strategy for chatter instability in machine tools.<p>The regenerative process theory explains chatter as a closed loop interaction between the structural dynamics and the cutting process. This is considered to be the most dominant reason behind machine tool chatter although other instability causing mechanisms exist.<p>The stability lobe diagram provides a quantitative idea of the limits of stable machining in terms of two physical parameters: the width of contact between tool and the workpiece, called the width of cut and the speed of rotation of the spindle. It is found that the minimum value of the stability limit is proportional to the structural damping ratio for turning operations. This important finding provides the motivation of influencing the structural dynamics by active damping to enhance stability limits of a machining operation.<p>A direct implementation of active damping in an industrial environment may be difficult. So an intermediate step of testing the strategy in a laboratory setup, without conducting real cutting is proposed. Two mechatronic "Hardware in the Loop" simulators for chatter in turning and milling are presented, which simulate regenerative chatter experimentally without conducting real cutting tests. A simple cantilever beam, representing the MDOF dynamics of<p>the machine tool structure constitutes the basic hardware part and the cutting process is simulated in real time on a DSP board. The values of the cutting parameters such as spindle speed and the axial width of cut can be changed on the DSP board and the closed loop interaction between the structure and the cutting process can be led to instability.<p><p>The demonstrators are then used as test beds to investigate the efficiency of active damping, as a potential chatter stabilization strategy. Active damping is easy to implement, robust and does not require a very detailed model of the structure for proper functioning, provided a collocated sensor and actuator configuration is followed. The idea of active damping is currently being implemented in the industry in various metal cutting machines as part of the European Union funded SMARTOOL project (www.smartool.org), intended to propose smart chatter control technologies in machining operations. / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished

CAPES; CNPQ; FINEP; FA; SETI / Este trabalho tem como objetivo implementar, caracterizar, calibrar e testar um acelerômetro óptico biaxial para o monitoramento de vibrações em máquinas elétricas. São apresentados os métodos convencionais de sensoriamento e sistemas ópticos para a análise de vibrações. O acelerômetro proposto tem como elemento sensor as redes de Bragg em fibra óptica, onde a oscilação da massa inercial provoca a alteração do comprimento de onda de Bragg conforme o deslocamento da base do sensor. O acelerômetro óptico biaxial permite a medição da aceleração em duas direções ortogonais, onde a frequência natural para o eixo x é 747,5 Hz e para o eixo y é 757,5 Hz, podendo assim realizar medições com sensibilidade constante até aproximadamente um terço dessas frequências. A caracterização em resposta em frequência denominado massa dinâmica, foi obtido com os ensaios experimentais utilizando o martelo de impacto e o atuador eletromecânico. Este último ensaio permitiu que o acelerômetro fosse exposto a uma excitação harmônica de 10 Hz a 750 Hz. A comparação da resposta obtida com o acelerômetro piezoelétrico utilizado como referência e o sistema óptico possibilitou obter a curva de sensibilidade em pm por g ao longo da frequência de análise. A análise em frequência está em consonância com a NBR 60034-14 a qual especifica os limites de vibração para máquinas elétricas girantes quando desacopladas de qualquer carga ou acionamento. Os ensaios realizados para validar a resposta do acelerômetro óptico biaxial para o monitoramento das frequências de vibrações em máquinas elétricas, foram desenvolvidos em três momentos. Primeiro foi analisado um grupo-gerador de 500 kVA no Hospital Pequeno Príncipe em Curitiba. Segundo foi utilizado um motor de indução conectado a um inversor de frequência e por último foi analisado um motor de indução operando com o rotor com a barra quebrada, onde foi acoplado um gerador síncrono para prover a carga ao motor. / The means focus of this study is to implement, characterize, calibrate and test of a biaxial optical fiber accelerometer for vibration monitoring in electrical machines. The conventional methods of the sensing as well as the optical systems for analysis of the vibrations are presents. The accelerometer proposed uses fiber Bragg gratings to measure the displacement of the na inertial mass, where cause the change of Bragg wavelength relatively to a displacement of the support base. The biaxial optical accelerometer allows the measurement of the acceleration in two ortogonal directions, where the natural frequency for the x-axis is 747,5 Hz and for y-axis is 757,5 Hz, being able to perform measurements with constant sensitivity up to one third of these frequencies. The characterization in frequency response called dynamic mass was obtained with the experimental tests using the impact hammer and electromechanical actuator. The last test allowed the accelerometer was exposed to a harmonic excitation of the 10 Hz to 750 Hz. The comparison of the response between the optical system and the piezoelectric accelerometer used as reference allowed to get the sensibility in pm by g regarding the analysis of the frequency. The analysis frequency is in line with the NBR 60034-14 wich specifies the limits of the vibration for rotating electrical machines when uncoupled from any load or drive. The tests perfomed to validate the response of the biaxial optical accelerometer for a monitoring of the vibration frequencies in electrical machines were developed in three moments. First it was tested a group-generator, 500 kVA at the Hospital Pequeno Príncipe in Curitiba. Second was used an induction motor connected to a frequency inverter and finally was analyzed na operating induction motor with broken rotor bar where was also used a synchronous generator to provide the load for motor.

Rotating blades, which are the most critical components of any turbo-machinery, need to be designed to withstand forced vibrations due to accidental tip rub impact against inner surface of casing. These vibrations are typically dependent on operating conditions and geometric parameters. In the current study, a rotor test rig with a maximum tip speed capability of 144 km/hr has been developed for studying the dynamic behavior of representative jet engine compressor blades actuated by the closure of clearance between the tip of a given rotating blade and a sector of the inner lining of the casing. Ten different blade profiles are chosen in the present research. The blades are obtained by lofting NACA GOE123 airfoil cross-section along different stacking axes. Rotor test rigs which simulate transient dynamic events require high frequency data acquisition systems like slip ring arrangement or telemetric transmission. While slip rings introduce noise into the signal, the telemetric transmission works out to be rather expensive. To circumvent the stated shortcomings of data acquisition systems, a novel rotor-mounted data acquisition system has been implemented here which captures dynamic strains in vibrating blades during operation. The current data acquisition system can store data for duration of five seconds with a sampling rate of 35 kHz. It has been calibrated with four standard tests, and provides a simple and efficient mode of data capturing. Three blades with airfoil sections (a flat beam-type blade of uniform rectangular cross-section, a blade with twisted cross-sections stacked along a straight line, and a blade similar to the latter but with a curved stacking axis) are tested under controlled rub conditions at four different speeds. The maximum test speed is restricted to 800 rpm for reasons of safety although the set-up is designed to operate up to a maximum speed of 2000 rpm. For each of the rotor speeds, a blade is tested for three to four different stagger angles in the range of 0o-30o. By plotting the RMS values of measured dynamic responses with respect to stagger angle for a given rotor speed, it has been observed, perhaps for the first time in published literature, that a stagger angle of around 20o yields the maximum RMS value of strain response. A major objective of the current study has been to utilize the data generated in the tip rub impact tests for validating a predictive numerical model of the test set-up using explicit finite element analysis. To this end, a finite element model of the rotor rig inclusive of a rotor with two blades and the static frame structure is developed and analyzed using an explicit LS-DYNA solver. This model is calibrated with the test results of the three blade designs described above. In particular, it has been shown that the frequency contents of the measured dynamic strain responses agree quite well with frequencies obtained from the numerically computed responses. It has been found in the experimental responses that a given blade vibrates with two main frequencies: one corresponding to the first natural frequency of the rotor-blade system during the tip-rubbing phase (which lasts until the blade tip is in contact with the rub element which is a sector of the circular casing), and another corresponding to the first natural frequency of the blade when it vibrates freely without its tip being in contact with the rub-liner of the casing. A shortcoming of the current modeling approach is its inability to realistically represent the damping behaviors observed in the tests. For reasons of computational efficiency and consistent with the fact that there was no perceptible damage in the tested blades, an elastic constitutive behavior is specified for the blades, while the sacrificial PVC rub-liner is assumed to behave elasto-plastically. A limited study has also been carried out by assigning an elasto-plastic constitutive model to one of the blades previously represented with elastic properties only, and although incipient yielding is observed in a highly localized region at the tip of a blade (which can also be a numerical artifact), the responses under the two material behavior considerations (i.e. elastic and elasto-plastic) are found to be nearly same. Finally, this validated modeling approach is applied to the study of blades of ten distinct geometric profiles (including the three configurations already considered) at a speed of 800 rpm and the resonant speed of a given blade. Comparisons are made between the relevant responses (such as time-histories of root strain, shaft torque, blade axial displacement, bearing load and rub force) of nine blades with airfoil cross-sections (leaving aside the results for the first blade of rectangular cross-section which is only of academic interest). Based on this study, of all the blade designs, it has been found that the curve-stacked airfoils exhibit better ‘Rub-tolerant’ behavior. Both experimental and simulation results have predominantly proven the fact that adding curvature to a straight stacked blade through curve-stacked or bow result in reducing the rub induced vibration. While sweep and bow provide some aerodynamic advantages, they are not much helpful in containing the vibrations to a sustainable extent.

In this work, we investigate the active vibration isolation and damping of sensitive equipment. Several single-axis isolation techniques are analyzed and tested. A comparison between the sky-hook damper, integral force feedback, inertial velocity feedback and LagLead control techniques is conducted using several practical examples.<p><p>The study of single-axis systems has been developed and used to build a six-axis isolator. A six degrees of freedom active isolator based on Stewart platform has been designed manufactured and tested for the purpose of active vibration isolation of sensitive payloads in space applications. This six-axis hexapod is designed according to the cubic configuration; it consists of two triangular parallel plates connected to each other by six active legs orthogonal to each other; each leg consists of a voice coil actuator, a force sensor and two flexible joints. Two different control techniques have been tested to control this isolator :integral force feedback and Lag-Lead compensator, the two techniques are based on force feedback and are applied in a decentralized manner. A micro-gravity parabolic flight test has been clone to test the isolator in micro-gravity environment.<p><p>ln the context of this research, another hexapod has been produced ;a generic active damping and precision painting interface based on Stewart platform. This hexapod consists of two parallel plates connected to each other by six active legs configured according to the cubic architecture. Each leg consists of an amplified piezoelectric actuator, a force sensor and two flexible joints. This Stewart platform is addressed to space applications where it aims at controlling the vibrations of space structures while connecting them rigidly. The control technique used here is the decentralized integral force feedback.<p><p> / Doctorat en sciences appliquées / info:eu-repo/semantics/nonPublished